The 33-bedroom, 1960’s designed Fox Hotel on Wolverhampton’s Penn Road Island was reserved by the now axed Wolverhampton Development Company for Cordwell Leisure, which had received planning permission for a new £15m, 133-bedroom hotel and retail scheme that would be operated as a Hampton by Hilton.
Around 48 jobs were to be created by the new hotel, which would also feature a ground floor restaurant.
But the global hotel chain pulled out of redevelopment plans in January this year, and given Cordwell’s on-going funding discussions and time constraints, the council decided to acquire the building itself.
It now plans to demolish the building and turn the site into a car park until long-term plans for the site are made.
Charles Green, Wolverhampton City Council’s interim director for education and enterprise, said: “We are starting to market Wolverhampton in a different way – to welcome the private sector and make it a place that developers can see the potential of and want to come to. Part and parcel of that will involve the council making strategic purchases such as the Fox Hotel and other eyesores when we can.
“In the short term it removes an eyesore from a gateway to the city centre.”
The council is now welcoming approaches from developers for hotel schemes amongst others.
A spokesperson for the council told BigHospitality: “We’re keen to demolish an eyesore to make way for a future development and we continue to remain very open to any discussions with developers.
She added: “The council is open to ideas for a hotel.”
Wolverhampton City Council refused to divulge the asking price for the Fox Hotel.